This Is Why You Shouldn't Offer Your Seat To The Elderly, Claim Health Experts

Just stay put.

Standup citizens know that if you see a senior board the bus or train, you immediately get up and offer them your seat.

But according to health experts, we shouldn't be giving up our seat for the elderly on public transportation — rather, we should just stay put.

Yeah, we're a bit wary about this advice too, but hear us out.

As reported by The Independent, experts claim that offering your seat to seniors on public transport can hamper their health. Instead, they should be "encouraged to stand and discouraged from taking it easy in order to keep themselves fit," advises Sir Muir Gray, a professor at Oxford.

Think twice before giving up your seat on the bus or train to an older person. Standing up is great exercise for them.

Gray, a clinical adviser to Public Health England, recently explained that the elderly should walk for at least ten minutes a day.

"We need to be encouraging activity as we age — not telling people to put their feet up," Gray told the British Medical Journal. "Don't get a stairlift for your ageing parents, put in a second banister.

"And think twice before giving up your seat on the bus or train to an older person. Standing up is great exercise for them."

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A new report in The BMJ advises older people to stay active, as it can reduce the need for social care and allow them to live more independently.

In the report, researchers say the effects of ageing are often confused with the loss of fitness, when it's really the lack of fitness that ages them, adding to them needing more care.

A lot of illness in later life is not due to older age, but inactivity.

Discussions about the benefits of exercise should start when we are young.

However, we still think it's important to offer your seat to a senior, especially if they're using walkers, canes, or any type of support to help them walk, or if they clearly need to sit down. And if they ask if they can take your seat, you should absolutely give your seat up.

If you know someone who's older than 60, you should actively (heh) encourage them to get, well, more active.